1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to educational aids, and is more particularly directed to an educational aid of the "talking book" type having a reader interaction mechanism which encourages and reinforces reader attentivenes.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It has long been recognized that the acquisition of good reading skills may be accelerated through the use of techniques which operate and communicate with more than one of the perceptual senses of the learner. For example, the learning process is accelerated through the use of teaching aids which are both audio and visual in nature. For beginning readers, for instance, it is extremely helpful to couple the written text with its audio equivalent. Frequently, this technique also motivates the slow reader who finds reading difficult, laborious, and demoralizing due to difficulties encountered.
Various teaching aids of the "talking book" type have been proposed in which a record, tape or other audio reproduction of a selected material, such as a book, is coordinated with the printed text. A class of talking book teaching aids of the prior art include apparatuses in which the audio reproduction medium also includes signals which control the operation of the audio reproduction device. These signals may stop the device at the end of a page or pages of printed materials, at points within a programmed lesson in which a response or other interaction is required from the user, or at points within the lesson in which a pause is desired, such as to permit the use of ancillary equipment or supplemental display. In these teaching aids, reactivation of the audio reproduction device is achieved by a deliberate action of the user, such as turning a page of printed material and activating a button, supplying an acceptable response, or manipulating some control. Examples of teaching aids of this type are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,540,132, issued to Glass et al.; 3,738,021, issued to Hino et al.; 3,996,671, issued to Foster; and 4,035,929, issued to Groff.
In the teaching aids described in the foregoing patents, the audio reproduction devices are reactivated by the user. There are no mechanisms which encourage and aid the user to follow along in the written material during periods of audio output. Thus, if it is desirable to use an audio-visual teaching aid to improve reading skills, it is important that the user of the device follows along in the written text at the same time that he is listening to the audio equivalent. Full benefits of the teaching aid for improving reading skills would not be realized if the user could just listen to the audio reproduction, such as a story. Greater benefits from the use of such teaching aids would be realized if the user could be encouraged to be attentive and follow along with the written text.